Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Nightmare on Elm Street Remake Script Hits the Web! And It Ain't Pretty!

A mysterious spy with the droll pseudonym of "Rod Lane" has gotten his grubby little hands on a copy of the script for Platinum Dunes controversial remake of the 1984 Wes Craven classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Mr. "Lane's" review appeared yesterday on the fan site NightmareonElmStreetMovie.com, and I have to say, it isn't very encouraging.

You can check out the spoilerific review in its entirety here. But for the attention span-challenged, here's the essential breakdown:

The movie is filled with lame, forced references to modern technology such as podcasts and blogging, smacking of out-of-touch screenwriters trying to connect with young viewers.

The Tina/Rod relationship, and their eventual fates, is basically retained, although their names are changed.

Nancy is now a loner goth chick.

The story now revolves around Nancy and her boyfriend's quest to find out who Freddy is, and how to stop him.

Along the way, there is a red herring subplot that suggests that Freddy may not be such a bad guy (a pointless endeavor, since we already know he is!!).

The script is extremely bleak in tone, lacking not only the infamous wisecracking of the later sequels, but even the dark humor of the original.

The Springwood parents' killing of Krueger is depicted as an accident.

The reviewer is far from impressed, and I must admit that his concerns give me pause as well. The main issue seems to be that the film is transformed needlessly into a mystery, with a pointless red herring subplot that only wastes time.

Thanks to Vault Dweller and fellow blogger Katiebabs for bringing this tidbit to my attention.**UPDATE**Not long after posting this news, I received a message from Brad Miska of Bloody-Disgusting informing me that, thankfully, the script reviewed here is NOT the final one. In other words, changes have been made--and hopefully for the better!

11 comments:

I'm not even quite sure how similar he'll even be to the originally Johnny Depp character, since his name is now Quentin, and he's a podcaster. She also doesn't seem to be as involved with him as she was in the original.

This sounds hysterical! Podcasts! I will be laughing out loud in the theater. Remember when HALLOWEEN 8 made the same mistake and tried to be hip by introducing a mix of reality TV and the internet? What a disaster. It was great!

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...